Guidebook on the Management and Financing of Soil Rehabilitation Projects in China

The document outlines a comprehensive approach to soil remediation in China, combining international technical standards for risk assessment and remediation with an analysis of China's specific legal and financial landscape. It details the process of identifying contaminated sites—using mercury (Hg) as a primary example—and evaluates various remediation technologies and their costs. The guide examines the role of stakeholders under the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Soil Contamination (LPCSC) and identifies significant financing gaps, suggesting a mix of public funds, green bonds, and blended finance to address the high costs of land rehabilitation.

• Soil contamination in China is extensive; a government survey indicated that nearly 20% of farmland was contaminated as of 2014, and the 13th Five-Year Plan estimated that remediating 660,000 ha of farmland and restoring 5,000 m2 of polluted area to forest and grassland would cost CNY 7 trillion (USD 1.06 trillion).
• The technical process for managing contaminated sites follows international guidance, including site identification, risk assessment (hazard identification, exposure, toxicity, and risk characterization), and the calculation of remediation target values. For mercury-contaminated sites, a screening level of 14 mg/kg is used to determine if further risk assessment is needed.
• A wide array of soil remediation technologies are available, ranging from biological methods like phytoremediation (costing <USD 11.1/m3) and microbial remediation (USD 27.8-77.8/m3) to physical/chemical methods such as vitrification (USD 650–1,350/m3) and thermal desorption (USD 50–300/m3).
• China's soil remediation governance is primarily guided by the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Soil Contamination (LPCSC) of 2018, which establishes the 'polluter-pays' principle, though it notes that where the polluter cannot be identified, the land-use right holder is responsible.
• The public ownership of land in China creates a financial disincentive for private investment in soil remediation, as actors cannot recoup investments through land sale, unlike in private ownership regimes.
• Financing for soil remediation in China faces challenges due to the high volume of small-scale projects; approximately 44% of projects require investments of CNY 50 million (USD 7.6 million) or less, which increases relative transaction costs for investors.
• Green bonds and sustainability bonds are identified as viable instruments for scaling soil remediation, although they currently favor energy and transport over land use. The document suggests bundling soil remediation with revenue-generating projects, such as green buildings, to attract bond investors.
• Blended finance and climate funds (such as the GCF or GEF) offer concessional capital that can lower the cost of capital for projects, but accessibility is limited by onerous accreditation processes and the potential for China to lose its 'developing country' status by 2025.

APA

Lin, Y., Furst, K., Gouett, M., & Zhang, J. (2022). Guidebook on the Management and Financing of Soil Rehabilitation Projects in China. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-03/financing-soil-rehabilitation-china-en.pdf

Chicago

Lin, Yan, Kathinka Furst, Matthew Gouett, and Joe Zhang. Guidebook on the Management and Financing of Soil Rehabilitation Projects in China. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-03/financing-soil-rehabilitation-china-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lin |first1=Yan |last2=Furst |first2=Kathinka |last3=Gouett |first3=Matthew |last4=Zhang |first4=Joe |title=Guidebook on the Management and Financing of Soil Rehabilitation Projects in China |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-03/financing-soil-rehabilitation-china-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lin2022guidebook, author = {Lin, Yan and Furst, Kathinka and Gouett, Matthew and Zhang, Joe}, title = {{Guidebook on the Management and Financing of Soil Rehabilitation Projects in China}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-03/financing-soil-rehabilitation-china-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }